The Typical CAFL Player

The player who takes the field in the China Arena Football League is a well prepared athlete. They have either an extensive background having played in the United States or they have studied the game and have come up through the ranks at one of the prestigious universities and developmental programs in China. Of course they are in shape, but what are they really like? We polled roughly half of the players in the league to find out how much are they really just like the rest of us.

The finely tuned athlete of the CAFL eats seafood and beef just like anyone else. In our survey 27% favor seafood while 25% chose beef as their favorite. In particular 16% would order a steak. Still there are some who were very specific as to what they might order. Quarterback Shane Austin of the Shanghai Skywalkers says he would eat eggs at any meal and quarterback Sean Brackett of the Qingdao Clipper would order jambalaya if given the chance. Then again if you want to play for a championship mac and cheese might be a great choice. Both Jake Metz of Qingdao and Luis Vasquez of Guangzhou list the high carb dish as their favorite. Both played in the recent Arena Football League Championship game with Metz causing and recovering a fumble in the final minuet to give the Philadelphia Soul a 56-42 victory over Vasquez and the Arizona Rattlers.

Sergio Gilliam will play for the Shanghai Skywalkers

The CAFL player is well read. When asked what might be a favorite book, “The Bible” showed up more often than any other selection. Other selections included “The Kite Runner” and the “Game of Thrones” series. Still some classics made the list including the “Great Gatsby,” favored by Dashawn Johnson of the Guangzhou Power and “To Kill a Mockingbird” which topped Sergio Gilliam’s reading list. Gilliam is a wide receiver/defensive back for Shanghai. There are a few players who you might call very focused. Darnell Burks of Dalian says “101 Drills for Defensive Backs” is a book he cracks often while it appears that wide receivers like to make sure of their routes as wide outs Duane Brooks of Guangzhou and Shaun Kaleinamoku of Shanghai keep their noses in their playbooks.

When it comes to movies, it’s not surprising that football flicks are favored by the players. Our unscientific poll uncovered that “Any Given Sunday” is the player’s choice. That just might make Al Pacino the league’s favorite actor. His “inches” locker room pep talk though might have to take a back seat to his line of “say hello to my little friend,” from “Scarface,” which also made their list.

The players’ musical preference is just as diverse as those who make up the league. While rap might lead the way hip hop, rock and rhythm and blues are well represented.

We also asked the players who might be their favorite athlete and what we found was it really is all about the ring. The name of Michael Jordan was referenced more than any other with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James not far behind. The most favored football star was Tom Brady. Those players have a total of 18 World Championships between them. The translation is clear. We should expect a high level of play as the players aspire to be the best.